Smart Things SDK

What do you like best?

Smartthigns SDK is easy to use, being able to code in java, groovy, javascript, typescript languages is a plus. The API allows you to easily integrate into the smartthings environment. The SDK allows you to build and integrate your smart devices, services, and/or existing solutions on SmartThings ecosystem. I control my entire home with the smartthings platform and integrate several non-native devices via the smartthings sdk. Being able to use github as a repo allows you to share your code as well so others can enjoy any of the work you have done and update automatically through github.

You can also use the sdk to add local API calls which enables local/offline control of devices. This is handy when the internet goes down and also cuts down on the time it takes for the call to go to the cloud and then back to the hub and then the device.

Overall you can write integrations for yourself or share them with the smartthings community.

What do you dislike?

Currently, there are some changes going on with Smartthings and groovy language will be legacy code. The backend of the sdk could also use some updating but it functions fine.

Smartthings support isn't the best even though they are run by Samsung. The new app update caused a lot of issues with devices, and there are still some presence sensor issues that arise when doing certain automations. The new app was not polished when released and they have been slow to fix some of the kinks that are left.

Overall you can write integrations for yourself or share them with the smartthings community.

Recommendations to others considering the product:

Don't get flustered, it may take some trial and error to get certain devices running on the smartthings platform, but once you do you can integrate it with other apps easily.

Also, try to take advantage of using github as a repository even if you only plan to develop locally.

What problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

There are a lot of smart devices out there, but not all are compatible with smartthings. Having the open SDK allows you to create device handlers or other code to plug those natively unsupported products into the smartthings environment.